Eight Ultimatums later! The first season of The Ultimatum made waves when it premiered, but did the bold premise work for any of the couples?
The Netflix show followed eight duos on the brink of an engagement. After an Ultimatum is issued by one person in the relationship, they begin a trial marriage with one of their costars, living with a new partner of their choice from the show for three weeks. At the end of the three-week period, they move in with their original significant other and must decide whether they want to stay together and get engaged, leave solo or pursue things with their trial marriage partner.
Madlyn Ballatori and Colby Kissinger were one of the only couples in which the man gave the Ultimatum. Fans were shocked when the twosome not only got engaged in the April 2022 finale but also tied the knot moments later.
“At the end of filming, we talked everything out. I mean, every single detail we’re, like, ‘We are married, there can be no secrets,’” Madlyn told Us Weekly in March 2022. “So I don’t know if we were really surprised by anything [watching it back]. I guess we were more surprised by, like, what was chosen to be left in verses left out. It was better than we expected, honestly.”
Colby told Us that he was always planning to give Madlyn the chance to get married moments after he proposed if she said yes.
“Once I knew I was committed in [the] engagement, I knew I was ready for the next big thing, which was marriage and, like, wasting another beat when you got it right there on the biggest stage? Why not take advantage of the opportunity?” he said to Us. “And I figure since she said yes to the engagement, why not say yes to the marriage.”
Madlyn added that she didn’t have any hesitations.
“I knew that going into it, if I was gonna say yes to the proposal, I’ve gotta be ready to fully give it all,” she explained. “I think you saw I was kind of, like, ‘What the heck, let’s do it.’ I never wanted a big wedding anyways.”
The duo haven��t wasted any time taking the next step, either. Madlyn confirmed via social media in May 2022 that they welcomed a baby girl.
Season 1 of The Ultimatum is streaming on Netflix. Scroll through for an update on the cast: